Six Senses: enjoying world’s best wellness hotel chain

Synonymous with a perfect marriage between luxury and sustainability, it came as no surprise that a few months ago Six Senses Hotel Resorts Spa was voted the best wellness hotel chain in the world for the second year in a row. As we wanted to find out for ourselves last September we took our suitcases to the Six Senses Spa at Porto Elounda Golf and Spa Resort on the idyllic Greek island of Crete, in search of the secret recipe that gives the jet set just unforgettable experiences.

Already when we make our first steps to the entry we are almost blown away. An impressive interior with glass sculptures by Costas Varotsos tries to draw our eyes away from the azure blue waters of the Aegean Sea and the majestic view of Mirabello Bay.

While we walk around in the reception area we are constantly followed by hotelspa personnel that wants to make sure we don’t step into one of the small fish ponds in the building. It is just one of those examples of how every guest individually is taken care of to the maximum.

Since its opening in 2006, the Six Senses Spa at Porto Elounda Golf and Spa Resort has received more than twenty (inter) national awards. “Because of its authenticity”, spa expert Elli Soumaki tells us. “We find this unique heritage embodied in the architecture and interior of the spa, in the tradition and colourful history of Crete. From the raw materials to the marble, the tiles and the artworks … they are all of Greek origin and thus determine the uniqueness of the spa.”

The award-winning Six Senses Spa at Porto Elounda Golf and Spa Resort is one of the Mediterranean’s most breathtaking spas.

“Authenticity is also important in our approach to customers and treatments”, Elli tells. “We use products from international brands such as the French Biologique Recherche or the Australian Subtle Energies, we also make use of authentic raw materials that find their origin in Greece such as honey and essential oils from authentic Greek plants such as dictamus. Among our most popular treatments are the Apivita Royal Jelly honey treatment and the Apivita Queen Bee Facial, with natural products inspired by the honeybee of the Greek holistic beauty brand Apivita. The ritual includes a scrub, a firming mask and a moisturizing treatment based on local honey, propolis and royal jelly.”

As beauty treatments with bee products currently are very trendy we have to try one out. We choose the Apivita – Queen Bee Facial which even for Elli is the most impressive treatment on the spa menu. In this one hour nourishing treatment the beautyician stimulates specific energy points on our face to activate regeneration. But the most impressive thing about this treatment is how deeply the royal jelly and honey nourish and revitalise our skin. A perfect treatment for skin that has been suffering… like hours from sun, wind, salt.

The loungebeds of the spa swimming pool at Porto Elounda Golf and Spa Resort are just situated under the water surface for refreshing relax moments. Swimsuit from the SS19 collection by Danapisarra

“Six Senses Spa at Porto Elounda Golf and Spa Resort has received dozens of awards – even the passed months – for its authenticity, but also for its beautiful decor.”

Extreme wellness
“Because we want to keep our reputation high, we are constantly looking for innovative treatments”, Elli continues. “Our ‘Sleep Well Journey’ ritual is a good example of this. The treatment is based on clinical research and old practices from Ayurveda to reduce sleep problems. In addition, we are a forerunner when it comes to extreme wellness. Because no matter how you look at it, the pursuit of well-being has never been so extreme. “Today we are carving our way to better brains, better bodies and better general well-being.”We try to meet that spirit of the times with, for example, IMMOT Crete by Mediterranean Eucrasia, a program that we developed ourselves and for which we received the award for the ‘Most progressive Detox Program in the world’ in 2015,” says Elli. “This tailor-made program focuses on metabolic rebalancing including weight loss. The program is accompanied by a serious price tag but is highly substantiated scientifically. We use customer’s DNA from saliva or hair, we perform blood analyzes whereby we measure, for example, the presence of heavy metals and hormones, but we also scan the cytokines in the fat tissue. With the help of a special mask we measure the physical condition of the customer. A consultation with a dietician and a doctor provide us with additional information. The customer then receives a fully customized diet plan based on traditional Cretan recipes with therapeutic qualities. After one week we already notice positive results in the neutralization of catabolic stress hormones, increased stamina and weight loss. The whole program lasts two months. The customer stays at the hotel resort for at least one week and is followed up online at home via an extremely advanced network of specialists. We also offer treatments in which we stimulate the brain with delta waves and theta waves to improve mental health. “In short, wellness is no longer limited to relaxing and nurturing facial and body treatments.

More info:
You can of course stay in the rooms and suites of Porto Elounda Golf & Spa Resort but we found the rooms, suites and bungalows of Elounda Mare, a hotel from the same Elounda SA Hotels & Resorts group and the only Relais & Chateaux of Crete even more cosy and personal in terms of service. This hotel is just situated a block away and you can use hotel services (cars or golf carts with driver) to escort you around.